Azra of the Burning Sands (Genesis Project) by Arlin Fehr Page B

put the book back, and rushed out of the library, towards the courtyard, at the base of the tower, where he could teleport away, back to Jarridon.
     

Reunions
     
    ‘You tell a lot of stories and teach little Mahgic, Wyzard... sometimes I feel like you’re wasting my time...’
    -Jahnyz, voicing frustration to Azra
     
    JARRIDON – BAZRA DESERT
    A zra stood in the lobby of his palace in Jarridon. He was looking warily at the black snake that was coiled on the floor next to Kia. It was looking back at him, but otherwise, hadn’t really moved since he’d arrive.
    John Fort had rehearsed in detail to Azra all that Kia had told him when she emerged from the tunnel. The girl looked small and afraid, and the others gathered in the lobby left a healthy space between themselves and the snake.
    ‘The Sorcerer didn’t say anything else?’ Azra asked, not taking his eyes of the snake.
    ‘No, Azra. Nothing. He just said I would be let go so I wouldn’t distract you from your mission,’ Kia explained.
    ‘Your Father is not going to be happy,’ Azra mused.
    Then he began to pace. He walked slowly in a circle around Kia. She was holding herself and looking at the floor. She looked quite upset. Azra wanted to just tell her everything would be all right, but he really didn’t know if it would be.
    He heard footsteps hurrying towards them and stopped and looked up. Cina, wearing a red tunic, with a dagger at her side, was rushing towards them. She was looking at Kia. She raised her arms towards Kia, and Azra stepped between them. Cina looked at Azra, anger on her face.
    ‘Don’t touch Kia! I know I told you she was back, but she’s brought an unwelcome guest,’ Azra said, gesturing towards the snake. ‘If anyone tries to touch Kia, that snake will kill them.’
    ‘It’s just a snake,’ Cina scoffed, pulling the dagger from her belt.
    ‘No, it’s something more . Kia saw the snake get its head cut off, only to have it heal itself and kill the man who tried it. She’s safe, for now, but we can’t risk losing her again. The Sorcerer told her that anyone who tries to remove the snake risks getting Kia killed, and certainly getting themselves killed.’
    ‘The Sorcerer said?’ Cina asked, slowly putting her dagger away.
    Azra sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘The Sorcerer let her go. But he made the snake come with her. The snake killed a few of his own men just to keep them from stopping her. He told her that not having her back would distract me from my mission.’
    Cina looked over Azra’s shoulder at Kia. Then she looked back at Azra and said, ‘You can’t be seriously planning on going through with this.’
    ‘What choice do I have? He’s tricked me with his Mahgic before, and I didn’t see it coming. I can’t risk destroying the snake, lest I do it wrong, and it kills Kia.’
    ‘You can’t expect the King to just stand by and wait for you.’
    ‘I actually do. He has a war to fight. His daughter is back in our protection, and for now, I don’t think we have to worry about the Raiders. Kia told us there is some dissension among the ranks.’
    ‘While you do what exactly? Try to track down what the Sorcerer wants, and give it to him on a silver platter?’ Cina asked impatiently.
    ‘More or less. I'll work on a better plan while I look for answers.’
    Cina let out a sigh, and asked, ‘So, what now Baron Hemnoth?’
    ‘Now, I go talk to the King,’ Azra said.
    *
    MINNA – ROYAL PALACE – VANHO PROVINCE
    As much as he disliked the gaudy grandeur of the Wyzards and Sorcerers in Sallock, he couldn’t forget that he was intimately attached to such grandeur himself. He was reminded quite forcefully of this as he walked up the grand causeway leading to the palace.
    Kia trailed behind him, and Cina was next to her. John, and Azra’s apprentice Jahnyz, walked behind them. He had brought them along, and told them his plan as they had walked from the Archway to the palace.
    Jahnyz had been